Trump turns to White House ballroom on first day after midterm defeat, insisting he has no regrets
Donald Trump marked the installation of the White House ballroom's final beam on 4 November, his first public appearance since Democrats swept Congress, telling reporters he had no regrets about his campaign strategy.
Donald Trump spent the first day after his party's sweeping midterm defeat talking about a building project. On 4 November, the day after Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, the president appeared at the construction site of the new White House ballroom, where he watched the installation of the project's final steel beam and spoke to construction workers. The appearance had not been on his original public schedule. Reporters were summoned at short notice to the cavernous steel skeleton on the site of the former East Wing, where Trump signed the final beam with a black marker, adding the word 'Love!' above his signature, before a crane raised it into place with a Christmas tree balanced in the middle of its span. Trump described the ballroom in expansive terms, telling workers and reporters that it would have 50-foot ceilings, Corinthian columns, marble floors and chandeliers, and that it would be, in his words, the best ballroom anywhere in the world. He said the project was being built for the country and at no cost to the public, and spoke at length about the construction, including a helipad and other Washington renovation projects. The backdrop to the appearance was a historic reversal. Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and dozens of House seats, taking control of both chambers in an election that Trump himself had framed as a referendum on his presidency. The result leaves him facing a Democratic Congress for the final two years of his term, with the power to block his legislation, investigate his administration and hold up his judicial and senior appointments. Asked whether he had any regrets about campaigning alongside Republican candidates in the final weeks, Trump said he did not. 'No, look, if I were on the ballot we would have won,' he told a USA TODAY reporter, repeating a claim he had made on social media on election night, when he wrote: 'I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!' He rejected the idea that the result was a personal defeat, saying voters had not liked the Republican candidates, and he blamed some candidates for failing to appeal to his supporters. He also criticised Fox News for giving Democrats airtime, and pointed to higher petrol prices linked to the war with Iran as a factor in the losses. At the same time, he congratulated the Democrats and said he was willing to work with the new congressional majorities. Trump also made clear how he intends to deal with legislation he opposes. On election night he posted a picture of his trademark red cap bearing the single word 'veto', and he has repeatedly described the veto as his ultimate power if Congress passes bills he considers unacceptable. Democrats, for their part, have promised intense oversight, including of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and two Senate races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remained undecided as counting continued. Vice President JD Vance offered a different explanation for the defeat, writing on social media that some voters who backed Trump in 2024 had switched to Democrats, citing the Iran war, inflation and US policy towards Israel. Exit polls pointed in the same direction: nearly nine in ten voters said the cost of living was a major factor in their vote, and about two thirds blamed Trump for high prices. Trump acknowledged that the Iran war had contributed to the defeat, while defending the military campaign, which he launched with Israel in February. He told Fox News that he thought the gasoline price was part of the explanation, and he has said Washington has no immediate plans to strike Iran again, even as mediation led by Qatar continues. The ballroom appearance mirrored Trump's final campaign pitch, when he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool about Washington construction projects and took around 20 minutes to mention the looming election. He said on Wednesday that he had heard that speech got great reviews, and that it had nothing to do with anything else. What happens next will test both sides. Democrats must decide how far to push investigations and legislation knowing Trump can veto their bills, while Trump must decide whether his promise to work with the new majorities survives contact with a Congress now controlled by his opponents. For now, his first public act after the defeat was not a concession speech or a policy announcement, but a tour of a building site, a final beam, and a signature on steel.Advertisement
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